30 Days to Go
by allonsy-perseus
Summary: Everyone was born with it, no exceptions, what was it? A clock; or more specifically, a countdown. A countdown to the best day of your life, the one you will tell your kids when you are old; a countdown, to when you meet your soulmate. -COMPLETED-
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my friend's story. I'm just posting it for him and the editor.

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**Prologue  
**Have you ever left a watch on too long? Has it started to irritate your skin, making you itch and pull at it, annoying enough to make you pull it off? That's how everyone under 10 felt, but eventually people would get used to the feeling, especially when it's a part of you. Everyone was born with it, no exceptions, what was it? A clock; or more specifically, a countdown. A countdown to the best day of your life, the one you will tell your kids when you are old; a countdown, to when you meet your soulmate. Pretty corny, everyone thinks; until you meet them that is. You are captivated by them; they may not always be attractive, but they are destined for you, and you are destined for them. They are like the sun in a way that you can't live without them; you may not think this is possible, you may be a skeptical; until it hits zero.

**30 Days to Go****  
**I nervously scratched at my wrist, the area around my 'wrist mate' as everyone called it, a term which was coined by the man who discovered its use; was itching profusely, more so than usual. Everyone else's had stopped years ago, but not mine; mine felt uncomfortable, actually, uncomfortable is an understatement, it felt like it wasn't meant to be there, like it wasn't mine. It looked ridiculous, I thought, it was a 5 centimetre rectangle with rounded off corners. The screen wasn't very pixelated at all, making it hard to read in the daylight; and to top it off, it was a sickly greenish colour. As has been for all of humanity, your 'wrist mate' comes out with your preferences, even before you know they're your preferences; such as the colour. The colour would be your favourite colour, the numbers would be in your favourite font, but the size and shape stayed the same for everyone. Mine was wrong, to say in the least; the colour, a sickly green, was not my favourite, in fact I hated it. I liked red, but the stupid thing decided to be green. This wasn't so bad, but it just drew the line when the numbers counted down in comic sans, which I loathed with all my soul. My friends and family said I'd grow to like it, and that everyone does; but that was 7 years ago, when I was ten. Today, with only thirty two days until my birthday, my opinion of the stupid thing has not changed; it's still the boring, annoying, and just plain stupid looking thing it's been forever.

People have had them since the dawn of the human era, but about 20 years ago in the late nineteen hundreds, doctors had tried to remove the 'wrist mate' surgically, but to no avail. It was connected via a main artery. The blood pumping would keep it working. It was make from skin and bone, but was still electronic. Disconnecting the wrist mate would sever the artery, and you would quickly bleed to death; you couldn't even replace the damaged tissue as the area around it does not heal from damage very well. It's very susceptible to long term injuries; which is why so many people have opted to have surgery to enhance the strength of their 'wrist mate'. Dating, was one of the things only people who have found their soulmates can do; if you haven't, dating is considered against the law, as is not being with your soulmate; although this has never been a problem, as everyone has loved their soulmate, as comes the name 'soulmate'. There was once, a man, who did not marry his soulmate. He was put on trial and executed; seems a bit harsh, I thought, but think of what it would do to society to have a person who is not bound by their 'wrist mate' and can be with whomever they please, destroying others possibility of having a soulmate, this idea was more than frowned upon, to say in the least. Many rebellions were formed recently and a long time ago, with whole armies of people defying the 'wrist mates' control. Each rebellion and everyone in it was severly punished by either being executed or sent to a rehabilitation clinic by the govournment.

Death wasn't an issue in relation to the 'wrist mate's, as if you died by accident, your clock would stop and your would-be soulmate's would reset to another, as you have more than one soulmate in the world, as is common knowledge; the countdown just shows you your most compatible one. If you choose to never look at the countdown, by either painting over it or using another method, you will still know who it is when you meet them, they will stand out. It will be so obvious to you and them, even if you both didn't plan it. it was, as many people say, set in stone; I was one of the sceptics of the world, having a set fate didn't really appeal to me.

My life is fairly average, if I do say so myself; browning street never really sees and excitement, except for the occasional persons countdown finishing. It was an old street, with only a few houses lining the sides; it was closed off from any main roads so it was mostly quiet. All the houses were the same build but different colours, ours was dark green. My family only just moved to here last week, we left as my mum took a new job in a different city, but so far it hasn't been great, school starts in a few days and I have been dreading it for the whole week; starting at a new school was never good, especially halfway through the year in high school. You don t know anyone, you're seen as the new kid with no friends, you have to catch up on what's been done and it's just chaos. I went there on the weekend to get to know my way around, and it looks like a nice school; fairly new, some buildings made of bricks and some of wood. My classrooms were on the top floor of a building, many flights of stairs awaited me this year, I could tell. The rooms were fairly large, in comparison to my old ones; the size of the school was also notable. It stretched over several blocks. It intimidated me slightly, but I couldn't let the size of a school stop me from having a great experience there, which I was hoping for.

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A/N: Okay, yay First chapter's up and runny. Please R&R 3 :3


	2. Chapter 2

**27 Days to Go**

I hated buses. I loathed the idea of a car with many people jammed together like sardines. Mum says it's quicker, but I know it's not; it's precisely eight and a half minutes slower than the train by my watch. Unfortunately the train isn't an option for transport to school; it's less than a kilometre away but only accessible by crossing an old river and I don't plan to join the swim team just to get to school in the morning. My hair flew in the win as I hurried down the cobble steps to the bus station, water flicking up like a whip behind my feet; mum says it should be cut, and that the "brown wave" was getting too long, which I disagreed with. The bus had arrived and was allowing the last of the passengers to board. I quickly bought a ticket, running to get on. I sprinted past the coffee stand, kicking up more water as I ran. I heard angry yells from the people I sprayed. My left shoe began to slip. I couldn't do a thing as my left shoe left my foot and soared through the air, landing 20 meters away. All hopes of reaching the bus vanished as I sulked my way over to put it back on. Cursing, I sat down at the nearest bench to wait for the next one; the seat smelled of urine and beer, which didn't surprise me as a homeless man slept on the one adjacent. I glanced at the poor man, his tattered clothes and bag, probably containing all his belongings. His arm was hanging out from under his blanket, I couldn't help myself. I took a quick look at his 'wrist mate'. 18:21:02:06:30. Eighteen years. I pitied the man, eighteen years with no one to love. Horrible thought isn't it, to be alone, and to know you'll be alone for several years. I shuddered. The bus arrived, late as usual; I boarded and prepared for a long ride in a tight space, when I noticed there was only 2 other people on the bus; an old man and a girl around my age. I sat near the back, hoping to get some reading time in before school; not 2 minutes into the ride the girl walked over and sat next to me.  
'Whatcha readin there?' she smiled. She was an attractive girl, blonde hair blue eyes, looked my age, she seemed nice.  
I lifted the book to show her the title  
'Ah that's a good book, I read it a while ago'  
'What's nice' I replied, attempting to sink my head back into the pages.  
'Whats your name?' she continued  
'Phil'  
'That's a cool name, mine's Stacy'  
'Nice to meet you' I mumbled.  
It was then I noticed her 'wrist mate' 00:00:00:00:45. In 45 seconds her life would change; and then I realised, what if mine did as well? My heart started beating faster as I pulled the sleeve of my jumper from my arm, revealing my 'wrist mate'.  
I let out a sigh of relief and angst; it wasn't my day yet, but soon. I looked back at hers, 00:15.  
She was still smiling at me. The bus stopped to pick up a passenger, a male one; he boarded and sat down. He was a well-built jock type, but he looked nervous, kept shifting his wrist uncomfortably, looking around all the while. Then, mere seconds after he sat down, Stacy and the stranger locked eyes as I saw her countdown hit zero.  
The stranger smiled awkwardly, standing and walking over to her, arm outstretched.  
'Hi, I'm Aaron, and I must be your soulmate.'  
Stacy didn't say a word as she hugged him, her smile brighter than his as their arms enveloped each other.  
'Well this is my stop' I announced quietly, my statement falling onto deaf ears. I left the would-be couple to themselves, as I left the bus, and began my first school day.

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I began to wonder if the bell was even working as I spun my pen around in my hand; the lesson seemed to drag on like torture. The bland grey walls served as a canvas for my mind as I imagined colours splashed all over it. I was rudely awoken from my daydream by the illusive bell. The hallways were crowded at most times in the day, and the space around my locker was no exception. I shifted uncomfortably through the mass of chattering simpletons as I made my way to my locker. It was a bare brown metal box with not enough room for anything, I was surprised when my books even fit, let alone my bag. I quickly grabbed my books for the next subject and hurried to the room, only realising I was lost after I accidentally went onto the football pitch. I tried to knock my mind back into focus as I checked the map of the school grounds the principal had given me. Room 221B, second floor, third door on the left. I hurried to the staircase and began my ascent, pausing only to catch my breath. When I finally reached this '221B' the map had talked about, an impatient teacher awaited me.  
'You're late' he said calmly.  
'Sorry, I couldn't find the room and I was looking…' I trailed off.  
He sighed and led me inside in front of the 25 odd students, half of their eyes glued to me.  
'Class, this is…'  
'Phil' I mumbled.  
'Phil, he is new and will be joining us this year, say hello class'  
The silence was deafening  
'I expected more of this class, sit down Phil'  
I quietly walked to an empty seat in the back and sat down, slumping in my chair.  
'Alright class I am Mr Watson, but you can just call me john, I'll be your teacher.'  
He started to go on about expectations and work ethic, when I heard a noise from next to me.  
'Psst'  
I looked around, catching sight of a girl looking at me.  
I looked at her quizzically.  
'What's your name?'  
'Phil' I whispered, my thoughts leaning towards making a friend.  
'Like with a ph?'  
'Yeah, I suppose' I half smiled, trying my hardest not to mess this up.  
'Neat, my names Alice, it looks like you're having trouble with the work, if you have an questions just walk up and tap the teacher on the shoulder' she smiled back  
'Thanks' I muttered as she turned back in her seat.  
A few minutes later I was getting quite stuck with the set work, so I gathered all my courage and stood, walked over to the teacher while he was writing on the board, and tapped him on the shoulder like she said.  
He turned to face me.  
'What are you doing out of your seat?' he asked  
'A-asking a… question?' I stammered.  
Muffled giggles from Alice's group could be heard from the back, I cursed under my breath, how could I have been so stupid. I couldn't make friends that easily.  
'Sit back down and put your hand up like a normal student; it's your first day so ill ignore this'  
I sat back down silently, the whole class was giggling by now, except for one boy sitting a seat away.  
'Shut. Up' he said clearly. Everyone stopped immediately.  
'It wasn't funny, it was cruel, now be quite.'  
Everyone went back to work but I stared at the boy  
'Th-thanks' I stuttered.  
'It's fine, I just didn't want you having a hard time on your first day, I'm Brian by the way.'  
'I'm Phil.'  
'Nice to meet you Phil, hey why don't you sit with me at lunch, I'll help you get acquainted to this place.'  
'Sounds great'  
I went back to work, realising I still didn't understand the work, so this time I put my hand up. The next half an hour went by pretty quickly and lunch arrived sooner than expected, I walked into the lunch room and it was full of rowdy kids sitting in groups at tables. I spotted Brian at the back of the room, gesturing me over. I sat down and he started to tell me about the school as I ate, the food was bland and tasteless.  
He stopped talking briefly and looked at me, his eyes picking me apart.  
'So why did you come here, like to this school?' he asked  
'Mum got a new job.'  
'Ah, I can see you're not from around here.'  
'What gave that away' I sarcastically remarked, for some reason I felt different around this guy, more… confident  
'You seem, different, like a cool different, you know?' he laughed.  
I nodded with a smile.  
'Why did everyone go quiet when you asked?' I enquired.  
'You beat up a kid once for being a bully, and suddenly everyone's afraid of you. I'm actually quite a nice person' he sighed.  
'Well you seem nice to me.'  
'Thanks Phil, you're great.'  
I smiled as I realised that this school didn't seem intimidating anymore, I was actually looking forward to going here. The reason being that it was my first day, yet I could already tell I had made a friend for a lifetime.

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A/N: Crammed two chapters together because they were both relatively short. Don't forget to R&R :)


	3. Chapter 3

Relatively short chapters so I put another 2 chapters together. R&R would be great.

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**24 Days to Go**

Brian had showed me around the school so I didn't get lost, but obviously I wasn't paying attention as I was most definitely lost. I began to wonder if I was even in the school anymore when I turned a corner and saw the familiar number above the door, 221B. Fifty minutes later I heaved a sigh of relief as the last bell of the day sounded and I began my journey home, stopping at a vending machine for a drink. I arrived just before five pm with the scent of dinner in my nose as I entered, my mum greeting me as I walked by her to my room.  
'Are you hungry? Dinner's on the table if you want it,' she said.  
'No thanks,' I replied quietly as I left the room.  
I opened my door slowly, it creaked as I closed it again, falling onto the bed in a heap.  
The posters hanging on my wall loomed over me as I picked up my bag and gathered my homework books, laying them on my desk. My lamp flickered on and I got a pen out beginning my homework, trying to concentrate. Not 5 minutes in I get a call, which may not seem surprising to you, but no one has my number, except for the person calling, who was Brian.  
'Hello?' I answered  
'Hey man, you decent? Want to catch a movie with me and a friend?' he asked  
I thought about it, I was leaning towards staying home and watching a movie here, so I told him that.  
'Oh, no problem, see you in ten,' he hung up.  
I looked at the phone confused, wondering what he meant, when ten minutes later I heard a knock at the door. I walked down wondering who it was, when I saw a note on the door, it read:  
'Gone for the night, be back late, food in fridge, be safe – mum'  
I sighed and opened the door, catching my breath when I saw Brian standing on my doorstep, movie in hand, with a girl standing next to him.  
My heart stopped. I started shaking. My hand was trembling as I brought my wrist up, checking the display.  
Relief. Angst. Sadness. My 'wrist mate' was not quite there yet, close but no cigar. I calmly put my hand back down and lead them inside, Brian put the movie on and the girl made herself comfortable on the couch while I got food for us.  
'Oh Phil, by the way this is Sophie. She's a good friend,' Brian pointed to the girl.  
'Hello Phil' she turned to me and smiled, I feigned an enthusiastic smile back.  
'Hey' I replied shyly, my social anxiety proving a bit hard to overcome.  
For the rest of the night we watched movies and laughed, cried and sang along to theme songs; but overall it was the most fun night I'd had in a long time.

**Day 20**

Over the last week my classes had become almost bearable, with great teachers and easy work I thought I was going fairly well at this school. Today was Friday and I was looking forward to the weekend, but with my 'wrist mate' nearing its end I was becoming increasingly nervous. Walking down the hall I noticed a sign for free counselling, so I gave it a shot. My first session was this afternoon. I looked at the rough mud-map Brian had drawn me of the school, trying to find the room I'd been to at least three times before, 221B. When I arrived the counsellor was already there, waiting for me at his desk; he pulled out a chair and asked me to sit, I obliged.  
'Hey Phil'  
'Hey Mr Watson'  
'Please Phil, we're friends here, call me John.' He smiled.  
I nodded in recognition.  
'So Phil, what's troubling you, and why did you feel the need to seek counselling?'  
I held up my wrist, displaying the numbers  
'I see, getting a bit anxious are we?'  
'You could say that' I sighed.  
'Listen Phil, I know it can be daunting, it may seem like your life is going to change forever, but let me tell you it's not that bad. When it happened to me I thought things would go terribly, I was just back from Afghanistan you see.'  
'You were in the war?'  
'Oh yes, I was a soldier in my day, did my leg in while I was there, but I'm fine now. Back to topic, the day before mine said I was to meet my soulmate, I was more than nervous. I was breaking out in cold sweats, distressed; but most of all, I was afraid. The next day, when I looked at my wrist I was in a lab, it hit zero as I saw them. They were the most beautiful thing I'd seen in my life, suddenly all my fears and doubts disappeared as I stood there, staring.' He paused.  
'Did you get married, Kids?' I asked tentatively.  
'Sadly, no they jumped off a building,' he seemed calm when he said that, not even remotely sorrowful.  
'I am so sorry, you must have loved them, that's terrible' I empathized.  
'Don't feel sorry for me son, they survived. I watched them jump and hit the ground, but they did survive.'  
'But… how?' I looked at him, confused.  
He held up his wrist.  
'Because it never reset'  
After an hour of counselling with John my spirits had been lifted and I didn't feel so nervous anymore, he was good. I walked home, thinking about everything he said, but knowing my day would come and it wouldn't be so bad.

**18 Days to Go**

I woke up to the sound of a police siren whirring past our house in the early hours of the morning.  
I got up and rubbed my eyes as I walked downstairs to see my mum dishevelled and in the pink mothers-day shirt I got her, I asked her what was happening but she just shrugged.  
walking outside I felt dew on the grass soak my feet realising I forgot shoes but too tired to care. I stopped at the police car on the curb as an officer got out.  
'what…whats happening?' I murmured  
'we got a tip a runner was around here' no sooner had he said that when the door to the neighboors house was thrown open and two struggling people were dragged out, cuffed; one male and one female. The male was around 30, ragged and weak, whereas the female was about 20 and attractive. They were dragged near me and the officer holding them was struggling to push them into the backseat of the car when the male turned to me  
'kid, before I go and they change me you need to know something, your fate is not set, who you love is your choice to mak-'  
'that's about enough of that' the officer cut him off.  
'where… where are they going?' I asked, confused  
'they're both runners, their 'wrist mates' are both far from zero, so they will most likely go to a reform center where they will learn to use the 'wrist mate' like normal people.' The officer waved as he went back to his car and the 'criminals' were taken. As I walked back inside I contemplated what the man said to me and what it meant, our fate was our choice to make?. That statement kept me up almost the whole night before the dark embrace of sleep finally arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

**15 Days to Go**

School was becoming more and more obsolete as my 'wrist mate' got closer to zero. On this particular day I found myself at the new looking corner store just up the road from my house buying a burger. The soft greasy bun entered my mouth and for a second I was in heaven, when I was thrown out of the moment when I got a tap on the shoulder. Brian pulled me around and shoved his phone in my face shaking it around.

'Look look look look!' he said excitedly  
'All I see is a picture of a dog' I responded flatly, wanting to get back to that burger.  
'Exactly! It's the dog im getting!' he beamed  
I looked at him confused for a few seconds then grew bored and continued eating.  
'So.' I said between mouthfuls, 'Why a dog, and why are you so excited?'  
'I'm not excited about the dog Phil, I'm actually more excited about Sunday'  
I finished my burger, parting with the wrapper in an nearby bin.  
'What's happening on Sunday?'  
'You, Karina and I are going… wait for it… camping!' he announced.  
My mouth dropped slightly open, a bewildered expression on my face; I had never gone camping before, it just didn't appeal to me, and now out of the blue I was going with two people I've known for less than three weeks; exciting so it would seem.  
'It'll be fun!' he coaxed, 'campfires, tents, wilderness, maybe even some fishing; the fresh air will do you good.'  
I couldn't count how many times I had heard that cliché phrase but I decided to go along with it anyway, new experiences were what laid the foundations of an exciting life which I had been told I did not have. I spent the rest of the day packing, not knowing what to bring or what the conditions would be like made this not an easy task. I called Brian and asked him about it, but he just said to bring an umbrella just in case. I packed a small one my mum gave me for my last birthday, putting it next to my utilities such as my pocket knife and bug spray. I just finished as I heard my 'friends' pull up outside my house. I hurried down the steps and jumped in next to Karina, she had earphones in and Brian was driving.  
'All aboard the cool express. No stops 'till camping grounds!' Brian hollered.  
Karina playfully punched him in the arm pulling an earphone out.  
'Just drive you weirdo.'  
h\He laughed and started the car, Karina handed me an earphone to listen to music as we began the 4 hour journey to an unknown place I was anxious to see.

**12 Days to Go  
****  
**On the third day of this 'camp' as Brian called it, we awoke at 10 am to pack up the tents for the midday departure as it was a long way back to the car. It hadn't gone as I expected, which was good in a way; a lot more physical activity such as canoeing and biking. The food was also surprising, by looking at it I was disgusted, but when I saw Karina basically inhaling it I decided to try it and was pleasantly surprised. On the first day we set up camp about 2 kilometres away from the car; we lugged 10 kilograms of tents and enough food to last a week between us. The spot Brian had told me about was a large plane of tall grass with a clearing in the middle, and off to the side was a small hill overlooking the lake. If you weren't careful while walking the tall grass could trick you sending you over the edge into the water Karina warned me. By the time we'd set up camp that day the light was fading so we sat around the fire Brian made impressively with two sticks, telling stories, some scary some not; mostly being the not. Karina told us about herself and things she'd done, while Brian attempted to spook us with his not-so-scary stories. For my turn I shared my experiences in the new town and what I thought about it, Karina laughed when I mentioned that my pants had been pulled down on my second day of school and Brain punched the guy who did it. We stayed up 'till past midnight, a bad decision we realised as we were awoken by birds early the next morning. On that day we biked on a dirt track to a place where there were mounds of mud for riding on; in which I crashed into multiple times. After that we canoed out to a small island in the middle of the lake and played games with a ball Karina brought. Today was our last day. We didn't have enough time for anything fun so we just packed our bags for the 2k hike. After I packed mine I walked up to the hill and watched the gentle roll of the small waves lapping at the beach. I looked up from the beach as I heard footsteps coming towards me, fast. I felt Brian's hands as he pushed me off the edge of the hill, I quickly grabbed onto his hand with an intense grip as I fell, taking him with me. We fell into the lake with water splashing around us. I looked over at Brian smiling as he stood, the water reaching his chest. We turned as we heard laughter from the hill; Karina stood there giggling at the top.  
I turned to Brian and he made a hugging motion and I knew what to do; we climbed the hill quickly, wrapping our arms around her ignoring her cries of protest, we jumped into the water. A large volcano of water erupted as we splashed down, all laughing and dripping wet. We clambered onto shore still laughing as we dried ourselves off; my only shoes were waterlogged but the sun would dry them. Brian asked if we were ready to go and we nodded, picking up our bags. We walked for an hour and a half, Karina with her headphones in while Brian and I discussed our schoolwork. The same went for the car ride and we were home in no time. I was dropped at my home and goodbyes were exchanged as I walked up the steps. Once inside I went straight for my room, flopping on the bed spread out like a starfish. I realised I hadn't checked my 'wrist mate' in a while, but I also realised that I did not actually care.

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A/N: R&R :3


	5. Chapter 5

**3 Days to Go**

I was never particularly good at card games, especially the casino types. I was down $10 after my game of blackjack with Brian; I thought I did considerably well seeing as I'd never played before. We hadn't seen each other for a while after the camp as he was busy. I took this time to catch up on my reading and schoolwork; quite an arduous task without help I realised after. My room smelt of mould from the wet clothes I hadn't washed since the camp, mum was off on business for the week so I was left to cater to my own needs which I had brutally neglected for so long. Brian and I had set up a small table with cushions as chairs in the middle of the room to play cards on; it worked very well. After a few hours of eating, watching movies and playing cards Brian had to leave. We said our farewells as he drove away, a cloud of dust settling on the road in his wake. I trudged back inside my feet heavy, I felt like I was going to collapse at any moment; I brushed my teeth and flopped into the warm embrace of my bed, the shadows closing my eyes and taking me far away from the world I knew, far away to new places, the likes of which have never been imagined. I went to new worlds and became a new person, all without leaving my bed. I wished to stay here forever, never to return to the world run by "wrist mates" and fate; but yet I longed to find that one person, that person that would be there as it struck zero. I slept and slept, my mind never ceasing; but very soon I was to wake and be controlled once again.

**The day.**

I rarely wore a watch, it covered my 'wrist mate' very uncomfortably; but today I decided to anyway in spite of my wrist's objections. Today was meant to be a school day, but a recent prank courtesy of the senior year has rendered the school unusable for the day resulting in a free day. Everyone had taken the opportunity to hang out with their friends, unfortunately for me my only two were busy, so I planned to just sit at home and watch movies. My mother on the other hand while on the phone to me urged me to get outside and do something, as if I were a child who needed to be told what to do. I hung up after saying goodbye, trudging upstairs to put proper clothes on. I was quite pale according to some, the sunlight singing your skin into a different shade never really appealed to me so I stayed indoors a lot, or at least that's the reason I gave people when asked. Seeing as I had to go outside I decided to check out the local theatre so I could still watch movies as I so desired. It wasn't very far so I decided to walk it, the 'fresh air would do me good' as my mum would say.

I quickly arrived at my destination, browsing the many movie titles shown at the front of the place as I walked to the door, the air-conditioning blasting me as I entered. Tickets were cheap so I bought some for some obscure 3d movie no one had heard of and that would probably be bad, even though I loathed them. My loose left shoe was beginning to agitate me as it fell off for the 4th time on the way up the stairs to theatre number 8. My cheap 3D glasses kept slipping down my face as I struggled to open the door with one hand holding popcorn. My seat was near the back, 2 rows forward from it; the dark theatre was almost empty, with only a handful of people sitting spread around the 8 rows. In my seat I began eating the popcorn even though the movie was yet to start. Five minutes of eating later and the large red velvet curtains parted to reveal the massively overwhelming screen which was emitting a dull glow. The screen began to play advertisements and I returned to my popcorn. The signal to put on your glasses appeared on the screen and I fumbled them from my pocket to my head, resting them lazily over my eyes while I positioned the popcorn on the seat next to me. I reached my hand up to put on the glasses properly when another hand bumped me, sending the glasses to the floor.

I audibly sighed as I reached down into the darkness to get them, a hard task in pitch black darkness.  
"Sorry, let me help you get them." I heard a soft voice whisper.  
A person was suddenly crouched next to me, their hand feeling around near mine.  
"This would be easier of we had some light," I muttered in frustration.  
"Good idea," replied the stranger. I heard rusting and a few second later they pulled a small object from their pocket, presumably a phone.  
"Now where are those damn glasses-" I started.  
The light briefly blinded me from how bright it was, but as my eyes adjusted a saw two slender arms reaching around on the floor, one was thicker and hairy, mine, and the other was thin and smooth, unknown. They were different arms, but they both had the same number on their 'wrist mates', zero.

My hand began to shake, my body following suit.  
'Could this really be it?' I thought.  
'Could this person really be… my soulmate?'  
My gaze steadily rising, I forgot about the 3D glasses and my mind when blank, all I could think of was  
'Don't mess it up, don't mess it up.'  
We both looked at each other at the same time, my dark brown eyes meeting her big green ones. It was love at first sight… except it wasn't.  
"Is that it?" she complained in a whiney tone.  
"Is… what?' I replied confused  
"I thought I was going to get a hot muscly guy, who's cool and stuff. But you? Really? This thing is rigged," she hit her 'wrist mate' and stood to fall into her chair.

She wasn't what I expected, not at all. She wasn't as attractive as I imagined, or even as nice. I looked at her, her short figure, her thin brown hair, her small nose, and all I saw was… nothing. I didn't feel any attraction, not even the slightest hint.  
"Well, you're not so great either," I retorted after a brief silence.  
She scoffed. "Coming from you, that means nothing."  
I sat back in my seat, dazed and confused. What was happening was this really how it happened? I thought I was dreaming, that any minute now I would wake up and my 'wrist mate' would still be counting down, that I would live a happy life with a beautiful girl I was glad to call my soulmate. I was rudely awoken from my dream by the girl, she punched my shoulder.  
"Hey you, if we're gonna be soulmates or whatever, we need to get to know each other."  
"Uh, ok, well, I'm Phil, nice to meet you," I responded.  
"I'm Sarah, and under the circumstances it's not that nice to meet you."  
She stood, her height not much different from that of me sitting down; she began to walk towards the door.  
"Where are you going?" I called quietly.  
"On our first date, duh," she let the door slam behind her, I was left confused in my seat before I finally caught on and followed her out.  
"Hey, wait up!" I called as she left the theatre, along with my perfect future.


	6. Chapter 6

**The day**

My eyes strained against the sudden burst of sunlight, I desperately looked around for Sarah, she was no-where to be found. I scanned the road, my eyes catching on her sitting on the nearby school playground. I shielded my eyes from the sun with my hand while walking towards her.  
"So, what are we doing?" I asked sceptically.  
"We're going on an adventure," she jumped down from where she was sitting, walking up to me.  
"Wait, what?"  
"It's a hobbit reference, you would get that you're a nerd," she walked around me.  
"I'm not a nerd!" I said defensively, secretly cursing myself for not getting the reference.  
She stopped walking, eyeing me up and down uncomfortably.  
"You're a shy one, aren't you?"  
She continued before I had time to answer.

"Never had a girlfriend, not many friends, spends lot of time in his room," she was beginning to sound like Sherlock Holmes.  
"How do you kno-" I began before I was rudely cut off.  
"I like to think of myself as somewhat a psychic." she started walking away. I followed at a brisk pace. What ridiculous notion, a 'psychic' I despised the fraud palm reading ect. type services and she liked to pretend to be one of them!  
A few minutes of walking later and we arrived at our unknown destination, I was anxious to know what we were doing.  
"Hold this," she handed me her backpack, I held it while she used a pair of bolt cutters seemingly produced from no-where on the mesh fencing we were in front of. As the sky grew increasingly darker and the minutes ticked by I grew anxious.  
"What are we doing here?" I whispered.  
"You'll see," she finished cutting the fence and stepped through the new hole, assuming I'd follow. I climbed through diligently, putting my hand to the side to steady myself, but in the process I cut my hand on a jagged wire, it began to bleed profusely.  
I cried out, pain flowering from my palm.  
"Don't be such a baby," Sarah scoffed.

I powered through it, tearing my shirt to use as a bandage.  
She walked and I wrapped, we seemed to be in a metal scrapyard by the looks of it, large platforms and cranes, piles and piles of iron and steel. We stopped at a ladder leading up the side of a small building warehouse kind of thing. We ascended, my hand pulsing with blood and pain at every rung. At the top was an entry to a room, it looked abandoned long ago, with the walls breaking down and the roof hanging by strings. We stood there in silence.  
Sarah walked forward, her boots leaving prints in the thick layer of dirt on the floor, she stopped at an edge. I approached cautiously, not wanting to fall and injure myself more. It was a long fall, bout 4 meters, the ground was just dirt; this chasm stretched across the room, there was no path across this, it was 4 meters across so jumping was not an option.  
Then without warning, Sarah ran at the chasm with no intention of stopping; she hit the edge and launched into the air, there was no way she could make it. She was about halfway across when she grabbed onto a hidden bar and swung herself the final distance, landing safely on the opposite side.  
"Well come on," she taunted.  
I sighed, why must she play these childish games, what was the purpose? I could just walk around the building, but no, I had to risk my life for some unknown adventure.

I threw all my fears aside just for this moment. I was after all trying to impress someone. I took a few steps back for my run up, and just went for it. I sprinted with all my power, going speeds I didn't think I could go; I reached the edge quickly and launched off, so far so good. I came into contact with the bar, both hands feeling the cold steel. Wait a second, both hands? Where did my bandage go? With nothing to stop the flow of blood from my palm it erupted like a volcano, wetting my hands which I needed specifically for gripping at this moment. Much to my despair my hands slipped, and ultimately I fell. My legs brushing by the platform I was meant to land on; so close. I got one last glimpse of Sarah's astounded face as I plummeted to what appeared to be certain doom; I hit the ground hard and it was lights out for me.

**One day after  
****  
**I awoke in a bed to the pattering rain on the roof; my head hurt from the noise. I tried to sit up and take in my surroundings, only to fall back down when my arms gave way; I was sore all over. I thought back to how I got here, I remembered the chasm, I remembered Sarah pressuring me to jump, and I remember my stupidity of actually jumping, but that was it. Did I make it? The bruises on my back indicated otherwise. I looked around, I appeared to be in my room; unbeknownst to me how I arrived here. I struggled for a good five minutes to get out of bed, but to no avail. I gave a hefty heave and was thrown out of bed and onto the floor, moaning in pain. I heard the door open out of my field of vision, and a person came into view, standing next to me. My mum lifted me to her height, my head just reaching over hers.

"Now what are you doing out of bed mister?" she began.  
"i… fell…" I muttered.  
"You should be resting. You're badly hurt; your nice friend who brought you home is downstairs watching your movie." She sat me on the bed. I groaned audibly.  
"What's wrong, she seems nice, don't tell me she's your-"  
I fell from her grasp onto my bed as she stood there frozen with a smile on her face. She grabbed my wrist and looked at my 'wrist mate' her smile spreading further than the joker's.  
"Tell all" she whispered as I sat up.  
For the next 5 or so minutes I told her what happened yesterday up until the part where I blacked out, she was exuberant throughout.  
"That's rather exciting, better than my first meet I'll say; but anyway, I'm glad you had fun with her, you should tell me about her!' my mum insisted.  
"Well there's not much to tell, uh we haven't known each other for long." I sighed.  
She looked at me disapprovingly.  
"Well that's what I'm asking, wait no telling, you to do right now; you go down there and get to know her! I'ill just be in my room… doing things…"  
I sighed once more as I obliged, limping down the stairs to find Sarah sitting on the couch watching bee movie.

"That's a terrible movie," I remarked.  
"I'm watching it to laugh at it," she chuckled.  
I sat down next to her, the soft cream coloured couch enveloping me while pulling Sarah closer.  
We sat uncomfortably in silence for a while until she spoke up, her voice sounded ever so whiney.  
"Nice place you have, pretty bland," she commented.  
"Uh yeah, we just moved here," silence once more.  
I saw my mum peeking around the corner from the kitchen, she was failing miserably at eavesdropping; I elected to ignore her presence, as pointing it out would make Sarah uncomfortable, something she didn't seem to care if I was. We sat there watching Barry the bee and his antics for quite some time until my mother intervened.  
"Alright what's up with you two? For soulmates you're awfully different."  
I put my hands on my face in exasperation.  
"Exactly!" I replied.  
My mum looked confused and somewhat bewildered.  
"I think what he's trying to say is we don't really like each other."  
Sarah stated matter-of-factly.  
"But, but, have you gotten to know each other, are you sure?" my mum trying her hardest not to yell.  
I tried to stop her but Sarah continued.

"We're just not attracted to each other, not "soulmates" as people would put it, simple as that."  
My mum looked flabbergasted, she stormed out of the room in a fit.  
"What's her problem? Hasn't she ever seen people who didn't want to be together?" Sarah mumbled.  
"Yes, she has," I replied softly.  
"What?"  
"My dad. When he met my mum, she fell in love with him, but he didn't love her. They had me so he wouldn't be arrested. He left us when I was 12 to fight in one of the rebellions against the 'wrist mates'. He was captured by the government and stated that he "would rather die than be controlled by a clock" and was executed on the spot. My mother's 'wrist mate' never reset, she loved him but he never loved he"' I relayed the story to Sarah like I had done to all my previous friends who asked where my family was; she just listened, her face growing increasingly sorrowful.  
"Oh my god, I am so sorry" Sarah looked away.  
"I guess I should apologize to your mum."  
"No its fine, just go, I'll help her."  
Sarah was gone no sooner had I said that, leaving me to the quiet sounds of my mum sobbing in the next room.  
I wanted to go in there and tell her everything was ok, and that my soulmate was perfect and that we were going to be happy, but I couldn't lie to her like that.


	7. Chapter 7

**2 days after  
****  
**I was immensely surprised to know that Sarah went to my school. Not only had I never seen her, she was in none of my classes but one; maths. She also happened to be one of the people that laughed when I was tricked by the 'popular' kids on the first day. Cringing as I remembered that, I sat down next to Brian at our regular table at lunch, Sarah following suit.  
"So Phil. Who's your lovely friend?" Brain looked to Sarah rolling her eyes.  
I motioned to her. "Uh yeah, this is Sarah."  
"Nice to meet you Sarah, how do you know Phil?" Karina asked.  
Sarah smiled deviously, her overbite which I hadn't noticed before showing.  
"We met at a movie theatre, we were watching "love is timeless"'  
I groaned, that's the worst chick flick ever, she thinks she's so funny.  
Brian started laughing, Karina did the same, when it finally died down I explained how we actually met, right up until my getting knocked out obviously; I didn't mention that we were 'soul mates'  
Brian was sceptical, he looked at Sarah and me.  
"So you guys are friends right?"  
"Well yeah," I mumbled.  
"You could say that," Sarah eyed me.  
"Well, not exactly," I started, but was rudely cut off by the bell for next period.  
"Oh Phil," Brian began as I stood to leave.  
"Karina and I were going to go to the shops after to get her new shoes as we ruined hers from camp, you wanna come?"  
I smiled at the memory, it seemed like too long ago; mulling over the question, I responded with another.  
"Yeah sure, but do you mind if I bring Sarah?"  
"Your choice man, see you then!"  
After school I ducked home to put on regular clothes, dreading social interaction I had to go through in less than an hour. Sarah offered to drive me as she had her full licence, I was yet to receive. We arrived before the others, so we waited outside McDonalds.  
"Why didn't you tell them?" she asked a hint of anger in her voice.  
"Tell them?"  
She held up her 'wrist mate' realising what she meant I sighed.  
"I just didn't want any drama, that's all."  
"Well you have to tell them sometime, you can't hide forever."  
Brian and Karina arrived soon after us, and we shopped for quite a while before each of us left in turn, leaving me alone I took to playing games on my phone until my mum arrived to pick me up.  
When she did I entered the car and we drove, I noticed she was much happier than yesterday.  
"Did you have fun?" she asked innocently.  
"Yeah, we did."  
"Good, good. So do you like her yet?"  
"Mum!" I replied loudly.  
"Phil you know what happens to people who don't, and I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you." she whispered, her eyes becoming damp.  
"It's okay mum. I won't let that happen."  
"Thankyou Phil, you know you're the person I love the most. Also I was thinking roast for dinner?"  
"I concur," I said in a posh way, we laughed and drove home like nothing was wrong and our lives were perfect, and in a way, they were.


	8. Chapter 8

****A/n: Thank you so much for the reviews from Blunz and Sweet sugarrrush. I'm glad you both love the story

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**4 Days After**

I tried to act natural as a police car drove past where I was walking; the dirt path I was on became narrower as it turned to cement, my shoes leaving a muddy trail of footprints. I covered my "wrist mate" with a watch to hide the empty digits that angered me so. It was more so I wouldn't be reminded of my problem than so people couldn't see it; if it was seen though I would most likely be arrested quickly and taken to a "rehabilitation clinic" as they called it, I call it a concentration camp. They bring you in and change your beliefs on this thing on your wrist entirely, making you a "productive member of society" or a zombie bound by the "wrist mate's" control. I kicked a small stone along the path in front of me, while it was clattering along I felt a vibration in my pocket, pulling out my phone while I yanked out the earphones connected, I answered the call.  
"Uh, hello?" I whispered. I hated speaking on a phone, even when I was alone.  
"Phil... It's your mother..." She sounded afraid.  
'Mum? Is something wrong?' I was concerned, she doesn't usually call me.  
'Everything's... Fine. I just need you home' she answered, she didn't sound fine at all.  
I was anxious to know what was going on, so I jogged the next hundred or so meters home. Upon arrival I noticed a strange car parked on the road outside our house, ignoring it, I used my key to open the door slowly, taking in what I saw. My mother was not alone, 2 police officers were with her, they turned to look at me, my mother had tears in her eyes.  
"Wha-" I began.  
"Phil... Run phil..." She whispered.  
"But mu-"  
The officers began to walk towards me.  
"RUN" she bellowed, I paused for a moment, turned and sprinted to the door, the officers following suit.  
As I ran my mother called out behind me.  
"Go to your second home Phil! Don't stop!" Another officer appeared seemingly from nowhere and took my mother inside. I thought while running, about directions to where she vaguely told me to go as not to give it away to the officers. I was fairly fast on my feet, but the officers were faster; they were gaining fast, they'd be upon me soon. I realized what I had to do; I took a sharp left, towards the place I played at a middle schooler. The old playground was next to a large quarry, a small fence lined the edge of a 2 and a half meter gap to the other side of a chasm. When it was only a meter deep a couple years ago my friend and I would jump back and forth for fun, but it was eventually deepened and too dangerous. I sprinted full bore at the tiny fence, the officers starting to realise what I was going to do. They tried to grab me, pulling my jacket off, but I kept going. Adrenalin fuelled those last few meters. I gained a lead as I closed the gap between me and the fence. All my strength was exerted from the jump, my feet left the ground and it was all a haze, I flew for what seemed like minutes. I regretted jumping as I landed on the other side; hard. My ankle hurt like hell, but the officers gave up pursuit, calling in their radio for backup. I limped away quickly to my destination.

* * *

I didn't understand what was going on; why did my mother tell me to come here? How did the police know about my 'wrist mate'? What was I meant to do now? All these questions were flying through my mind as I limped up the library steps; my ankle didn't seem to be broken, just bruised. It was always open, except on Sundays; I would come here when all my "friends" were off on social outings I was never invited to. I spent a lot of my childhood reading in libraries, I always referred to it as "my second home". I must have read the whole library by the time I left, those bindings wearing thin and the pages becoming torn. The doors automatically opened and I heaved myself onto a chair, breathing in the smell of old books deeply; I fantasized about the wonders these little pieces of trees could hold, when I was interrupted by someone talking to me.  
"Hey stupid, you right there?' an all too familiar voice called.  
I sighed, facing Sarah, a slightly confused look on my face.  
"Why are you here?' I questioned somewhat angrily.  
"Your mum called me, and like it or not, we're both not meant to be here, both fugitives."  
She took what appeared to be a chocolate bar of sorts from her backpack, chewing loudly while he talked.  
"No, it's just a misunderstanding, I'm sure they'll respect our choice to not be together' even before I said it I knew it was ridiculous.  
"Respect us? Respect our choices? You have got to be joking me, they don't respect anyone different, or anything new; they're stuck in the old days where everything was black and white, but soon they have to realise the world is more a weird shade of grey."  
She finished the bar scrunching the wrapper noisily, other users of the establishment looking at her in disgust.  
"Well anyway, we gotta scram, the fuzz gonna catch up to ya soon" she said jokingly.  
"For one thing, never speak like that again, and another, I can't leave yet, I've got to get something," I began to wander towards the back of the library, Sarah waiting behind.  
"Make it quick."

The back section was for broken books, ones that had been loved and given up over the years, the outcasts that lived through their time. I liked this section for the one reason that it had only the best books, the ones that had personality. I dig through the pile, right down to the bottom where id hidden it, my favourite book. I grabbed it, but it was connected to something; tugging hard both the book and the unknown object came flying out and I was sent sprawling. It appeared to be a small backpack, fairly full; inside I discovered a fully packed lunch, a large sum of money and a library card with a note taped to it, reading:

'I knew you would get the book. Love you lots, don't get hurt ~mum'  
I beamed, she knew me too well.  
Using the library card I borrowed the book for two weeks, the maximum time.  
As the librarian handed it to me, I heard a siren, and a police car drove past and parked nearby, the officers who chased me getting out.  
I pulled the book away quickly stuffing it into the bag, panic in my eyes. The librarian must have noticed as she grabbed my shoulder, whipping me round.  
"Take the back, go straight until you reach Westlake road, I'll meet you there." She gave no explanation as she herded Sarah and I to the back door, the officers began ascending the library stairs as we ran to the place of unknown forthcomings.

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A/N: Please review. Any creative criticism would be appreciated.


	9. Chapter 9

**4 days after**

As we neared Westlake road I'd almost exerted all my energy, whereas Sarah was still going strong. This and so many other differences were making me wonder why we had been chosen by this little piece of plastic to be "soulmates" but sadly this choice had been made whether we liked it or not and no amount of whining could change it. We rounded the corner panting, collapsing on the closest house's freshly trimmed lawn. It smelled faintly of pesticide and I sat up to avoid it, i wouldn't run again for a while I hoped. Sarah looked at me questioningly, her face radiated contempt for my lack of fitness. I stood once more and took in my surroundings, there seemed to be nothing important around, no landmarks or noticeable locations, so why did the librarian tell us to go here? As I was wondering a figure walked, or rather limped, around the corner behind us. I turned expecting the worst but it was just the librarian, she got closer slowly and I realised she was hurt. I rushed to her aid catching her just before she fell. Sarah showed no interest in helping as she lay on the grass. The librarian looked at me, the pain she was going through showed in her eyes; she had bruises up and down her legs, posing the question of how she got here, but there were also miner abrasions on her head. She didn't look like she had a concussion. Good sign. I opened my mouth to ask what happened but she just shushed me.

"There's no time, we have to get there quickly. I slowed the police down for a while but they'll be back on the trail soon."  
So many questions were going through my mind, but the one I pondered most as we walked was 'where are we going?'  
I soon found out and regretted coming when she pointed to a sewer drain, motioning for us to get in.  
"Are you crazy? It's gross down there and it's easy to get lost. I've heard stories of people going missing in the sewers," Sarah chimed in, with the only thing I agreed with that she'd said.  
I began to protest with her but the librarian spoke over me.  
"Just do as I say, or, if you really want to, you can stay out here with the police." As she said that I heard a distant siren, and was immediately regretting what I was about to do.  
"Fine, let's just go quickly," Sarah sighed.  
I opened the manhole and crawled down, the smell wasn't as bad as I imagined, but it was extremely dark. I heard a click and suddenly I could see the floor two rungs away. I stepped down and moved to the side, helping Sarah and the librarian who was now holding a torch down safely. She waved it around, stopping it at a tunnel going off to the left, she signalled us to follow her. We wandered in this dark and murky tunnel for quite some time when suddenly I heard a splash, the librarian and I whipped around to see a soaking Sarah swimming in the water of the sewer, looking very disgruntled.  
"Not a word," she said climbing out. I stifled laughter and she punched me in the arm.  
"Hey I never said a word!" I defensively said rubbing my arm.  
"Are you guys done? We're here." The librarian shone her torch on a small rusty door, it looked like it hadn't been used in years.  
"That's our hiding place? You've got to be kidding me." Sarah crossed her arms.  
"Fine then, stay out here, come Phil, open this door for me, it's quite heavy." The librarian shone the torch while I pulled, it eventually gave way and a small room was revealed with another, newer looking door on the other side. We all filed in, shutting the door behind us, the librarian pulled out a large old style key, and fitted it into the centre of the door, where a keyhole was barely visible.  
"Okay kids, brace yourselves," she smiled, swinging the door wide open as light flooded into the room. Sarah and I peaked inside and gasped; we weren't expecting anything larger than a small room, obviously surprised were we when we laid eyes upon a whole town.

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A/N: i know short chapter but a good short chapter is it not?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys but I'm going to post the next two chapter. 2 meaning this one and the next one tonight after I've finished editing them. Don't forget to review :D

* * *

** 4 days after**

It took Sarah and I a few minutes to take it all in, under the vibrant town above was this dark and murky sewer with a secret. It was home to over 500 of the nicest and most interesting people I'd ever met; of course I didn't meet all of them, we didn't have enough time but from whom I did meet, I was astonished at how different these people were from people I knew. The whole city seemed to have been built in a large circular dome shaped room, about 100 meters in radius. There were also a few tunnels three meters wide and high that twisted and turned around the outside of the place. I was informed not to go there as it was easy to get lost; good thing I never planned to. Down one tunnel directly up a ladder was a manhole, large enough to fit a bus in and could only be opened by a hidden mechanism I presumed was built around the same time as the town; the people used this hole to transport food and other goods to them. I wondered where they got the food and things from so I asked the librarian, who called herself Amy, and she told there was a network larger than just this sewer, that went all around the world that encompassed only a small precent of the population, which was still a large amount. the first thing Sarah and I had noticed when we arrived was that not one of the citizens had a "wrist mate" and also, everyone was smiling. Amy offered no explanation to how this was possible, only promising us information after we were "safe" as she put it. Without any further questioning she whisked us away to a small brick house on the far side of the town where she gave us food and made us comfortable at a table while she prepared to give us some answers. This was the first time I'd seen her properly, up close and still. She was quite attractive, she looked older than me by a few years, but her eyes made her look much older. The eyes in question were light brown, just like her hair, which looked barely cut as it draped all the way to her lower back across her blue jeans and tank top.  
"Okay guys, one question at a time and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability," Amy sighed as she sat across from us sipping tea.  
Sarah and I both opened our mouths but I kept my question for later, letting her begin.  
"Well first of all can someone explain to me when the bloody hell we are?!"  
"You're in the F dome, one of the largest underground homes to our people."  
Amy continued sipping.  
"And another thing, who are 'our people' exactly" Sarah questioned "and why are they our people?"  
Amy put the cup down, holding up her "wrist mate" to us; she then pulled out a little metal object, it looked like a lock pick, and shoved it under the "wrist mate" and yanked it like a crowbar, wincing in pain the little plastic display fizzled out and fell on the table while Sarah and I sat dumbstruck. Sarah began pulling feverishly at hers in an attempt to replicate what Amy just did, but to no avail. I was amazed and confused but she never answered the question. "Who are our people?"  
I asked again and this time she seemed obliged to answer.

"Have you noticed no one here has one of these?' she pointed to her lifeless "wrist mate" lying on the table, we nodded.  
"Well obviously they've all done what I've just done, with a special tool designed by the keymaker."

"The keymaker?" Sarah and I both said unison. Sarah looked at me and rolled her eyes.  
"He's a master craftsman that lives down here with us, we'll meet him later, but back on the subject; everyone got rid of their "wrist mate" so we could love freely, to put it simply."  
"Isn't that illegal or something?" Sarah seemed disinterested.  
"Yes, that's why we're underground dimwhit, now pay attention." Amy flicked her dead 'wrist mate' across the table and into Sarah's hands, she picked it up examining it.  
"If you look closely, you'll see two small needles, almost microscopic, on each end" Sarah pointed out. We could see them after a bit of straining, one was blue and one was red.  
"One of those is dopamine, and the other is scopalamine." Amy explained matter of factly.  
"Ok I know what dopamine is, I don't know why it's there, but what's Scopalamine?" I asked a confused look across mine and Sarah's faces.  
Amy took a deep breath. "Scopalamine is a special drug designed to make you compliant, in minute doses it's just subtle influence, makes you not question the 'wrist mates' and such. Also the dopamine is there to simulate love, well more to enhance it; ever heard of love at first sight? Probably not in your world, but its where when you see someone, you know you love them. When this happens your body releases dopamine making you feel euphoric, also known as love. This is amplified by the 'wrist mate'. Let's go back further. Years and years ago an unnamed doctor figured out how to grow synthetic material in animals, he then tested on a human baby. After a long period of testing he created what we know as a wrist mate, he then gave it to many children who had more children who had wrist mates and quickly over a few years it was worldwide. The reason was as he explained in his journal, was to "end unnatural relations between humans, such as having many partners ect, it also ended STDs but you wouldn't know what those are. Anyway the way the wrist mate is designed to work, is that when you are born it forms, it grows as you do reaching its peak at around 12 then it stops growing. The countdown is not what it seems, it's actually randomized, believe it or not. When it starts it begins counting down from a number devised by a complicated equation made by the doctor, which makes a random number in between 0 and 90, as that's the average life span. When it reaches zero of course, you will be anxious and very susceptible to the 2 drugs it uses. When it's extremely close to zero it begins pumping the dopamine, so when it hits zero and you see someone, you experience euphoria or, love at first sight. Almost everyone is in a place they find romantic or enjoyable when their wrist mate's near zero as that's where they want to meet their soulmate, and people with like ideas will do the same, so they will meet and common interest brought them there, but the dopamine keeps them there. Of course, as it's not a fully real attraction, it needs to be sustained, thus the extra need for Scopalamine, which makes you not question anything, almost like a mindless zombie of society. also, you may be wondering how this information isn't common knowledge, well, after the doctor made his creation and it went worldwide, he rewrote history to make the wrist mate fit in and seem like a natural part of life. That's the best I could explain it myself, the keymaker does a better job but we don't have much time, we need to get your wrist mates off."  
"But why and why no give us that little tool?" Sarah snapped, reaching for it; Amy batted her hand away.  
"Because children, these wrist mates are slowly making your brain numb with all that Scopalamine, we need to get it off; but you can't use my key as its specially designed for my wrist mate, you need to get one made for you by the keymaker."  
"Where is the keymaker exactly?" I asked fiddling with my wrist mate.  
"He's on the edge of town in a small shack, I'll show you where to find him for future reference too." Amy handed me a mudmap of the city, complete with names of people's houses and borderlines.  
"Now, take this," Amy handed us a small box "And when you find the keymaker, give him this and he'll make you a key."  
"Hey wait, aren't you coming with us?" Sarah yelled as Amy started to leave the room.  
"I'm busy, make your own way there, think of it as a little… test." And with that, Amy was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: 2 chapters in a row as promised. This chapter is pretty exciting. Have fun reading because I did!

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**4 days after**

Sarah and I were pondering why we were even here as we looked at the crudely drawn map, it was a large city but fairly easy to traverse, or so it looked. I folded the map into my pocket and we began walking in the direction it showed, the path was dirt but appeared to be placed over metal; most of the ground here was fake except for some home grown lawns in front of the houses. we walked side by side down the road, passing colourful houses and shops, one of which looked particularly welcoming, I motioned in its direction but Sarah ignored me; I became angry at how she treated me like a child, so I punched her in the arm to get her attention.

"What?" she asked angrily, rubbing her arm.  
"That shop looks nice, we should check it out." I proposed, she didn't look very interested but she shrugged and as we entered, the sound of a bell ringing as the door swung open. A tall woman with an apron called out from the back room, presumably a kitchen.  
"I'll be with you in a sec! Just gotta take these muffins out…"  
Sarah's head shot up so fast I swear she got whiplash, she took a step towards the counter with a kind of excited happy look in her eye I'd never seen before.  
"Muffins you say…"  
5 minutes and 6 muffins later we were walking again and this time Sarah was genuinely enjoying herself.  
"I actually kind of like this town!" she exclaimed in between chewing.  
"It's nothing like my suburb, I could see myself living here."  
I laughed and we came to an intersection, so we consulted the map.  
"Hey we're pretty close, just to the left and it's the fourth house!" I said excitedly, beginning to go left. We looked carefully for tell-tale signs of a craftsman's house, and were not disappointed when we came across a large shack style home with a tin roof and brick walls. I rapped my knuckles against the door, but the sound of distant machinery was blocking out my knocks. I hit again with much more force, hurting my knuckles substantially, still no answer; I prepared to punch the door when Sarah grabbed my shoulder and pushed me aside, pressing the doorbell I did not see. The machinery stopped and there were footsteps coming towards us.  
'_Idiot_' I heard Sarah mumble as the door was unlocked and the key maker stood before us. He was a pot-bellied fellow with tools hanging off his belt, he wore a red and black plaid collared shirt with a blue jacket and tracksuit pants. He had bulky black glasses with thick lenses and he wore a proud smile. He reminded me of a cliché grandfather with his happy go lucky look and clothes.  
"Who might you children be?" he asked, his voice was deep and friendly.  
"We're not children and I'm Sarah and this is Phil, who the hell are you?"  
"Feisty one this one, keep her away from your family eh?" He gave me a wink and I smiled.  
"As for your question, I'm the key maker, I don't actually make keys that's just a name, what is it you need? Ah I see you still have your wrist mates, is that is?" We nodded and he thought for a moment.

"Well, come on in and make yourself at home while I prepare to make you some removers."  
We followed him inside and he showed us the living room and the kitchen, each was a rustic old style room with candles and flowery patterns, the only current technology in there was the TV, microwave and fridge.  
"The remotes there and the fridge is full, entertain yourselves while I get something."  
With that he left the room, his tools jingling as he walked. I turned on the TV and watched while Sarah snooped around the room, looking at all his photos and in his drawers. He returned shortly with a bottle of a suspicious looking liquid, he sat on the coffee table and unscrewed the lid as we stood next to him.  
"Hold out your wrists." he instructed, we obliged.  
He began pouring the liquid into the side of our 'wrist mate's, and waited a few seconds before putting the bottle down.  
"Now rub your hands together and hold them high."  
We did as he said, and after a few seconds the hardened goo fell from our wrists onto our laps.  
"Now rub your head and pat your stomach." he said dead seriously. Sarah began to but I was reluctant, the corner of the key maker's mouth twitched up and be began to laugh, it was a hearty laugh that filled the room, as soon as Sarah realised what happened she stopped and began pouting with anger. I picked up the thing that dropped to my lap and examined it; it looked like the tool Amy used but with a long horizontal top the shape of my wrist.  
"Quickly," he said trying not to laugh "Snap off the end before it dries completely."  
He calmed himself as we did so, what resulted was something similar to Amy's tool but with a different middle.  
"Now let those stay for a moment to become solid before using them." he instructed.  
"While we're waiting I'd like to ask you a question." Sarah piped up.  
"Anything my dear." he smiled.  
"Who is the girl in the photo?" Sarah pried, intrigued.  
He sighed, it was obviously a touchy subject with him but it seemed he was going to tell it anyway.  
"She is- no was, my wife." he got out.  
"What happened?" I blurted, cursing myself for not being polite.  
"She left me, for her 'soul mate' which is why I researched to prove these things wrong, to prove to myself she really loved me in our short time together." He looked away from us, he showed immense sadness in his eyes.  
"Those removers should be ready. Go on, give them a try."

He turned back to us watching intently. I picked mine up and figured out which end was forwards, before thrusting into the hole under my 'wrist mate' I fiddled with it until I felt it click into place, and I yanked it up pulling it out with a peeling sound as it was removed from my skin, it felt like taking a band aid off after having it on for years. Sarah experienced the same thing as hers dropped to the floor, our faces showed the euphoria we were feeling and the key maker laughed gleefully.  
"The face they make never gets old!" he exclaimed heartily.

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**Reviews would be nice. Share with your friends if you like this story. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Okay next chapter! Thank you for all the reviews! 16. Geez. I never thought that there'd be so many. Sorry if there are any grammar mistakes, I do a quick edit and read and post it. Also, yes this story was inspired by a tumblr post. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find the post again but if I do find it I'll link the post to the AN of a chapter :) Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

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**5 days after**

A few houses down from the key maker was a small hotel, Amy bought a room for Sarah and I to be accommodated in. It was an old style brick building with a corrugated iron roof. The inside was much like every other house in the city, old style with floral patterned wall paper. We had separate single beds like in most hotels, with a small kitchen and bathroom making up the room. We spent the night there after we visited the key maker, we were fairly tired after running around all day and it was nice to finally relax feeling safe. Amy mentioned we were going somewhere tomorrow but didn't specify, leaving it to our imaginations. When I awoke Sarah was not there. After some looking around the building I found her peering into a vending machine angrily.  
"What, are you doing?" I asked as I approached, she jumped a little before realising it was me.  
"Just trying to get a damn drink, IS THAT SO HARD!?" she yelled and kicked the machine, I saw a bottle of coke half stuck on a ledge, she must have bought it but it didn't fall.

"Here, let me try and get it." I offered.  
"Yeah good luck, I've been hitting it for ten minutes straight" she scoffed.  
I knelt down next to the opening, looking up at the bottle; it was teetering so close to the edge but it was leaning on a nearby can. I lifted the flap and reached my arm in, wriggling feverishly towards the drink.  
"Hah, no one's arm is long enough to reach that" she rolled her eyes at my attempt. I gripped the shelf 2 below the bottle and shook, it slipped over and fell onto my hand with a crash; I pulled out quickly and held the bruise whilst Sarah grabbed her drink.

"Thanks" she laughed gratefully while I cradled the abrasion.  
A familiar face rounded the corner and greeted us with a wave.  
"There you are, I've been looking for you, we have to go now" Amy insisted.  
"Where are we going?" Sarah questioned.  
"We're bringing a load of supplies in for the week, figured you need some experience and I need some help." Amy began walking towards the lift and we followed, she pressed the button for the lobby and we descended.  
"We get all supplies such as food, water, clothing and other material goods from retail stores above, we just reattach the 'wrist mate' and no ones the wiser." Amy explained to our puzzled faces.

"So why do you need help?" I asked.  
"Well… to get it back here it needs to go through the pipelines, and the only pipe big enough to support a truck has its opening near a police station, which means we can only go at night when its relatively empty," Amy answered "but unfortunately this truck is carrying medicine for a recent sickness that's been going around, its needed urgently and can't wait until tonight, so I need you guys to stand guard and alert me of any curious Georges, also it will give you some fresh air."  
We walked out the hotel and onto the street, a large truck awaited the three of us and we boarded with me next to the window and Sarah in the middle. Driving for about 10 minutes we arrived on the outskirts of town, a massive pipeline lay ahead, I assumed this was it. It was a fairly short tunnel with a large metal door at the end that Amy opened with a button in the truck. Daylight flooded the room and we shielded our eyes as we drove and parked just outside the pipe. There was a steep hill in front of us so we couldn't be seen by anyone, but at the top of the hill a bit further back was a police station Amy mentioned. We traversed the hill slowly due to its angle, but when we arrived at the top there was a man standing next to 4 wooden crates holding a clipboard. Amy handed him a pile of money and he waved while leaving us to take 4 heavy crates to the truck.

"Phil, can you go down the hill a bit and ill push the first crate, you just stop it from sliding down; and Sarah, you stand guard and give us a shout if anyone's coming?" Amy asked and we obliged.  
We pushed them down the hill and hoisted them into the truck, all except 1.  
On the final one, we were halfway down the hill when Sarah called out to us, urgency in her voice.  
"Uh guys, there's a serious looking police man heading this way" Sarah yelled to us. We were too far from the bottom to let the crate slide down and both Amy and I were needed to support it, so Sarah had to take care of him alone.  
"Sarah, listen to me, he can't see the entrance, if even one person knows about the city it could mean catastrophe for all, you need to stop him getting over here, do anything you can except badly hurt him." Amy spoke quickly while trying to slide the crate carefully but fast.  
"Gladly" Sarah looked determined as she pulled a metal pole from her boot, it looked like a one handed baseball bat. She wandered over and there was muffled speaking heard for a while, then a whacking sound. The last crate was put in and Sarah came over the hill again, returning the pole to its sheath.  
"What did you do?" Amy asked curiously.  
"Let's just say I gave him a non-optional nap." We laughed and Amy began driving through the pipe again.  
Half way back I turned to Sarah, one eyebrow raised.  
"Why do you have that pole thingy?"  
She turned to me and I could see she was pained by the question.

"When I was younger, when I had parents, my dad, he would get drunk sometimes. he was the angry kind of drunk, and sometimes he would-" she turned away from me but not before I saw the tears appear in her eyes, I felt terrible for asking but I felt worse for not knowing. Why hadn't we got to know each other yet? We're soul mates apparently. As I pondered we drove to the centre of the city where the delivery was eagerly awaited.

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**Sorry if these chapters are updating with weird periods of time in between. Hopefully the next chapter isn't too long of a wait :D**


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Short chapter but there will be another chapter posted withing the next 3-10 hours :D Enjoy this for now though

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**5 days after**

After the truck was unloaded Amy took us to a shopping complex; it was quite small but had an abundance of unique stores. Amy said we needed new clothes, much to Sarah's dismay. I tried to say we have clothes at home but Amy said we couldn't go back any time soon. We grudgingly agreed but were still curious as to know what kind of clothes we were going to get. Everyone here seemed to wear things they found comfortable as opposed to what made them look good. We entered the store, it was like a knockoff of Target, and went to the clothing section. Everything was in dark colours and it was winter so they were long sleeved and legged. Sarah pulled off a black leather jacket from the rack and laughed.

"Phil wouldn't you look good in this?" Amy joined her laughing but I just rolled my eyes, taking off a floral girly shirt from the rack I imitated her voice saying, "Wouldn't you look good in this?" This time I was the only one laughing and Amy took it from me and put it back.  
"Okay guys seriously, we need to get you some new clothes, preferably not loose, something dark and simple, good for stealth." Amy instructed.  
We both sported questioning looks and Amy just motioned for us to start choosing. Sarah quickly found something perfect for her, a black shirt and tight jeans, with a thin jacket over the top with numerous pockets. It took me longer to find anything that fit my small stature, but while I was looking Sarah came over with a smile, and pointed to a rack a few meters away. I walked over to it. It was filled with masculine versions of hers, minus the jacket, which was replaced by a grey jumper with a front pocket. We tried on our clothes and they fit perfectly, once we left I thought it was a good time to ask why, Amy's vague instructions were starting to annoy me.

"Can you tell us why we got these?" I asked.  
"You'll see-" Amy began before Sarah cut her off.  
"Cut it out and answer the question goddamnit" Sarah was more fed up than me.  
"Fine, we're rescuing some people" Amy stated.  
"What people? Why? And why us?" Sarah quipped.  
"There's a secure prison like complex they take people who disobey the laws of the 'wrist mate' they interrogate and torture some and others they brainwash. They are trying to find this city and many like it. Recently some of our residents were captured while getting things from the outside and if we don't get them back they could give away the whole network." Amy explained in one breath, Sarah and I were still confused, why us?  
"I need you guys as its pretty damn secure, and a break in has never been attempted, I'm led to believe there's a way in through some vents, but I'm too big." Sarah looked at Amy in disbelief, she wasn't happy.

"Even though breaking into a prison sounds extremely fun, you're just using us as monkeys! Maybe we don't want to work for you and do your bidding; we already delivered your supplies!" Sarah wasn't raising her voice but still sounded angry.  
"Maybe you have no reason to go, but my intel happened to mention a certain someone was taken recently too, Phil's mother."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Hey, look at that. A new chapter already!? Well i didn't think I had enough time to edit this chapter but I did. You will have so many feels after this chapter but it's so good. With saying that, enjoy this chapter! :)

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**5 days after**

I woke in the hotel at 6pm shuddering, Amy told me my mum would be fine but I wasn't assured; they would hurt her to find me that I knew. Amy told us to go to sleep in the afternoon as we were going at night, I couldn't sleep at all so I was up getting ready mentally and physically. The clothes we got yesterday were perfect fits making them comfortable but hard to see in the dark. I sat on the bed and surveyed the room while thinking about the situation; no good could come of it no matter how I thought of it. We were on the run from the law, facing possible execution if anyone were to even glance at our empty wrists. Sarah and I were on good terms at the moment, she was actually kind of cool; she probably thought I was nerdy and weak, but I was a manly man. I laughed at that thought and lay in bed once more, gazing at the blank white ceiling. In six hours we were leaving on a rescue mission, of which I would have never attempted without the confidence I felt around Sarah, she kept me safe. I awoke a second time to Sarah's alarm, a loud electronic beeping I loathed. Despite it being her alarm she wasn't in her bed, my unasked question was then answered when she emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and ready to go; I was too as I slept in the new clothes. We descended the buildings stairs to find Amy waiting for us in the dark lobby, she had a small backpack on as well as a dark blue jacket, and her pants were tight like ours but had bigger pockets which she was holding numerous items in. We followed her outside to see three push bikes lying against the wall, she motioned us our designated bikes and we mounted. She began riding down the freshly tarmacked road while we followed closely. Exiting the city silently as not to wake anyone up, we entered a smaller tunnel only wide enough for 4 abreast. After what seemed like hours we finally stopped at a seemingly random point, Amy walked over to the side and pulled a ladder from the shadows, propping it up to touch a manhole on the roof of the tunnel. Before we ascended Amy pulled out a small folding table from the corner and lay her backpack on it, taking out a piece of paper, 2 torches and a small baton looking thing similar to Sarah's in her boot. She spread the paper on the table; it appeared to be a map.

"This is the facility, it has medium level security, nothing to worry about just a few government guards; we will emerge just outside the side of the building, I'll direct you to the chute and wait for you to unlock the door from the inside. Take one torch each as its dark, and Phil take this, just in case." Amy handed me the baton, I slid it into my belt loop. We climbed the ladder and I was in awe of the size of the building, it stretched 2 blocks and looked like a prison. Amy pointed to a small ventilation type shaft and we crawled in, me then Sarah. I turned on my torch and looked around inside, there was a T-intersection; I took left as that was the direction of the door. Suddenly as I crawled, my hand landed on thin air and I tumbled forward, falling down through the pipe and landing surprisingly softly on insulation, we were in a basement kind of place. I shone the torch around until I saw a door and peeked outside it, no one there. It looked like a kitchen of sorts, but no food, just cooking implements and a fridge. Curious I opened it, and was disgusted by the sight of sludgy gruel. Sarah came over and gagged at the sight, closing the fridge and continuing through the room.

We opened many doors and wandered through empty halls before we rounded a corner and a security guard appeared, quite shocked. Before he could even react Sarah's bat was in hand and swinging, he was unconscious before he hit the ground, which he didn't because she caught him. The door was in front of us and Sarah used the guard's card to unlock it, Amy entered brushing aside the unconscious man like he wasn't there. Amy led us through more corridors and rooms until we reached a large metal door with a viewing slit at eye level. We peered through, 2 more guards were posted in front of cell doors, they looked tired, and this would be easy. Amy counted down from three before swinging the door open and running at them full bore; she knocked one to the ground while Sarah batted the second. It looked like a won fight; unluckily the guard knocked down was still conscious and started to run away, Amy wasn't watching him and only noticed when he was too far away. He was close to an alarm so acting fast I pulled out my baton and threw it with all my might, it flew across the room and knocked him squarely on the back of the head, he was down. Amy and Sarah looked surprised and I felt proud of myself for a moment until we were back to work; Amy unlocked both cells and went into one with Sarah, leaving me to the other. I pushed it slightly; it was dark in there, turning on my torch I swung open the door, illuminating half the room. I saw a small toilet and sink, made of metal. Panning around the room I shone the beam on a metal bed with as many sheets as occupants, one. The person was facing the wall and wearing rags, their brown long hair down to their pants- oh god. Oh please no, it couldn't be, she looked so different, so hurt. I just wanted to take her home and sit her in bed with blankets pizza and a movie like we used to, but she looked badly hurt. They tortured her… they were sick. I wanted nothing more than to strangle everyone in this facility. I stood watching her, she wasn't moving. No rise and fall of the chest.

"m… mum" I whispered, no answer

"Mum?" I spoke more clearly but softly; I began to worry, so I took a step forward and shook her lightly, I pulled her towards me and she fell limp on the bed, looking straight up at the ceiling with empty eyes.  
"Wha… what have they… mum…" My eyes were watering but we could still get her out of here, there was still time, but then I saw her hands. They were missing multiple fingers, the wounds were not covered or healed, and her entire hand was blue, and that's when I realised her entire body was blue. I took a step back from the bed, the water in my eyes finally started flowing and I was crying; not because of what they did, but because it was my fault. She sacrificed herself so I could live for another day. She looked as beautiful as the day she got married, as amazing as when we watched movies until we fell asleep, as wonderful as the day of my last birthday, as sad as the day she held back the police so I could get away, and the day she gave herself up. They took her and did this to her as they do to animals; it was then I realised I wasn't just fighting for my freedom; I was fighting for everyone's. I stood over her one last time, closing her eyes with my hand. Her hand fell over the edge of the bed and opened, and a little piece of paper fell to the floor. I leant over and picked it up, I could barely see through the tears, but I managed to read the four words on the scrap.  
"I love you Phil."

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**Haha I hope you died a bit. We'll see what happens next chapter hey? ;)**


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter but only a month right? A lot shorter than other people's updates. Even though this chapter's short it's a great one!

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** 7 days after**

It had been 2 days since the little excursion to the prison, and the tears had not stopped once. I had never cried this much in my life, the bin next to me in our room was over flowing with tissues; I hated crying as it made me feel vulnerable. Throughout my whole life my mum had been there for me, protected me, but when she needed me I wasn't there. As I lay in the dark staring at the ceiling the door was knocked.  
"Go away." I sniffed as a rolled face down on the bed.

I heard the door open and a pair of footsteps approached the beds, I guessed it was Amy and Sarah as they were the only ones who had keys. Something was put onto Sarah's bed and then my bed dipped to the side where someone sat on it.  
"Phil, this isn't healthy." I heard Amy say  
"Mffffpghm!" I mumbled through the pillow, turning on my side.  
"I know how you must feel, my parents died only 2 years ago… much for the same reasons as your mother, but I achieved nothing by being sad." Amy sighed.  
"You aren't alone Phil and the sooner you realise it, the sooner it starts feeling better" she stood, and Sarah stood next to her, they both looked concerned.  
"Hey Phil…' Sarah kind of waved awkwardly.  
"Sarah's here to cheer you up, sadly I can't stay as the prisoners we freed that day are still in hospital and need care, so you two have fun" Amy left and shut the door behind us, leaving and eerie silence.  
I watched as Sarah tried to sit down, but after seeing the lack of room walked over to her bed and pushed it against mine, effectively making a king size. She jumped onto the bed next to me and I sat up, noticing what they brought for the first time. In between us lay a pizza box, and on top a pile of movies. Before I could ask Sarah picked up the pile and flicked through them.  
"We've got The Matrix, Die Hard, or a personal favourite, Star Wars."  
"Uh…" I rubbed my eyes.  
"Star Wars it is, also the pizza's pepperoni, I was told you liked it," she got up to put the disc into the flat screen In front of us.  
'Thanks' was all I could manage.

She crawled back next to me and put the pizza on our laps, flicking open the box letting the smell of warm cheese spread into the dark room. We both started eating as the movie began, we ate a quarter each before pushing it to the side. The men on screen fought with light sabers and laser guns while we watched captivated; I understood why she liked this movie. Half way through Sarah laid her head on my shoulder, her thin brown hair draped across my torso and her hand upon my leg. I felt a shiver run through me but I supressed it, all thoughts of my mum were gone, and all I could focus on was the warmth of Sarah's body and legs against mine. I could feel both mine and her pulse as she drifted to sleep, I soon followed suit and found myself laying my hand over hers as I nodded off out of reality.


	16. Chapter 16

****A/N: Ah the story is coming to an end. A couple more chapters and then we're finished. Enjoy this chapter.

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**8 days after**

I awoke alone in the bed, feeling groggy and happy. I wondered if the previous night had just been a dream but the joined beds and half empty pizza box told me otherwise. I sat on the side of the bed, rubbing my eyes while putting my jacket on. I still felt sad but I was holding up, I needed to get my mind off it, so I headed down to the lobby; once outside I decided to explore the town. It wasn't very big, barely a square kilometre in area; comprised of houses on the outskirts and shops on the inside. I walked around the centre for a while. A large water array adorned the middle of the town, spurting clear water into the designated troughs. The ground was tiled like market areas, the shops also resembled markets with their haphazard placement and size.

I came across the bakery I'd gone in before, and bought a delicious looking chocolate éclair with some money I swiped off Amy when she wasn't looking. I knew it was wrong but hey, it got me this dessert. As I sat on a bench I noticed the sky, or roof, for the first time. It was an array of lights like at a football stadium, except on a massive scale casting real looking fake sunlight. I pretended it was my birthday last year when I was back home on the veranda eating cake with my mum. We were watching the paperboy deliver while we ate, laughing when he missed the house when he threw it. I wished I could return to that simple life, before the "wrist mate" and before suffering. The last bite was the best and I swallowed content, when I felt my pocket vibrate. My phone took a moment before answering the call.  
"Yeello?" I answered  
"Phil, where are you?" It was Amy  
"Middle of town, next to the fountain"  
I heard murmurs before Amy responded  
"One sec, wait there"

The call was ended and I was a little confused, but sat basking in the artificial light for a little longer, before I spotted Amy with a group of people. Sarah not among them, I noticed they all had scars of sorts, cuts, holes, tears, I dreaded to dwell on what happened as they approached. Amy sat down next to me and the group made a semi-circle in front of me, Amy lay her arm on my shoulder.  
"Phil, we need your help," she motioned to the group.  
"With?" I replied.  
"We need a book, to put it simple. It's a role sheet, it tells us which people are going where. We're going to use it to intercept a convoy of people, much like our prison break a while ago. In fact, the sheets in the same building, the catch is, it's in the main office. Now I would just go myself but I broke my ankle yesterday, and the doc says I can't do any strenuous exercise. Sadly the sheet is only going to be there until tomorrow, so you have to go tonight, take Sarah if you wish, but it's a simple job' she lay back on the chair.  
"Alright, I'll try, where is it? It was a big building" I asked.  
"We can help with that" a group member piped up.

Over the next hour they told me the layout of the building in detail as well as exits, entrances, and where I'm meant to go. I left promptly as not to cut it fine, and arrived around midnight outside the building. I was wearing my black clothes again and blended in well, my pack made little noise as I crept to the air vent on the side once more. After navigating the tunnels I landed inside with minimal sound. Following my mind map lead me through countless halls until I reached my destination. The walls wear a bland grey and the roof was very light green, but the door in front of me was solid oak, it stood out from the drab rooms by a mile. I turned the knob, open. Pushing it forward slowly while peeking through, the room was empty but the desk and chairs, as well as the bookshelves that lined the walls. The desk was hard wood with a glass top in front of the leather chair with the big back. I saw on the desk a folder. It looked like the role sheet. One foot at a time I walked towards it, I was so close. I reached out my hand...  
"What do you think you're doing?" Came a voice from the corner.  
I froze. Panic, I snapped my head up to see a man in a suit standing in the corner, he wore a smile like that of a cheshire cat, like it had caught its prey which was begging for life. He stepped forward into the moonlight shining through the window. His eyes were a deep brown and he had a buzz cut, like army kind. His voice cut through the silence, not angry but assertive, you could tell he made people scared for a living.  
"Hello, I'm the warden, and you must be Phil"

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**Don't forget to review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** This is it last chapter! I hope you all enjoy!

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The warden, as he called himself, stood tall with his suit and tie, shined shoes and authoritative demeanour.

"I've been expecting you, Phil." He laughed at the cliché phrase.

"I've been watching you and your little 'city' for a while now, and I have to say, I'm impressed."

A confused look spread across my face.

"My informant, you may know her"

I gasped as Amy stepped out of the shadows, looking worried.

"I'm so sorry Phil, it was my only ch-"

"Enough!" He only raised his voice slightly but Amy was visibly scared.

"She told me about you, I held off the raid to see how you would play out" he paced around slowly.

I grew even more confused as he spoke, he was making no sense.

"Wha... What raid?" I asked.

"Oh Phil... The city had become a problem, I planned to... Get rid of it" he said ominously.

Before I had any time to react he pulled out a gun, I stepped back in shock and he paused.

"Amy, I'll let you do the honours." He held it out for her to take, she just stared blankly at it and back to me; I could see raw fear in her eyes.

"You 'free' people are such a drag," without another word he lifted the gun and a shot rang out in the room.

I looked in stunned silence as Amy's lifeless body hit the floor, smoke rising from the gun. Stunned silence came from me.

"And now for you," he aimed in my direction and I closed my eyes waiting for my imminent end. It didn't come. I heard a thud and opened my eyes, the warden lay on the ground at Sarah's feet.

"Wha-' I started before she cut me off.

"They came to the city, started attacking everyone. I had enough time to grab my things and run, I couldn't save anyone…" She got choked up.

"We have to go, before I left I may have knocked out a dozen or so officers." A sly smile crept across her face

"Sarah I love you" I smiled.

"You what?" she snapped her head around to face me.

"I uh nothing" I muttered.

She started climbing through the window and I followed, I looked up at the almost full moon as we jogged over the hills. We got to a road and followed it, rounding a corner I noticed we were at my old street; a for sale sign sat on the grass. We passed and I briefly thought of my mum again but suppressed the sadness for another time. As we passed the theatre I realised where we were going, I didn't bother asking why as she'd probably tell me later. We turned another corner and arrived at a familiar fence with a hole and my blood on it, I looked at the scar on my hand as we climbed through carefully. We continued through the scrapyard to the ladder and ascended, arriving back in the decrepit room with the chasm. Sarah turned to me as we stood at the edge. "Don't fall this time," she laughed and took a run up, swinging off the bar and onto the other side.

"Well comon!" She taunted again, why must she play these childish games? I made sure I was prepared before doing the jump, I ran and flew, the bar wasn't slippery this time and I made it across. Just. Sarah took the lead once more as she led me down a corridor that had a curtain at the end. She pushed it aside and I followed, stopping when I saw the room we entered.

It looked like the most comfortable place to spend the rest of your life. It was like a miniature log cabin, with a lounge-room, small kitchen beside and a bathroom. It had new looking wooden walls and roof, as well as carpeted floor. Posters adorned the walls with some of my favourite bands and TV shows on them. In the lounge-room was a large flat-screen TV. As well as speakers and dvd player. I looked over to Sarah for explanation but she was packing two bags with weird items.

"What…" I questioned, she looked at me.

"We have to leave. Get out of the country. Police will track us down, unless we aren't us" she pulled out two fake passports, one with her face and one empty.

"Now, I have transport planned-"

"Excuse me?" I interrupted.

"I'm not going anywhere unless you explain everything. This place, the passports, and why you tried to take me here when we first met."

She put her hands on the table, exasperated.

"Fine, you want to know?" She sighed.

"I renovated this place in my early teens, when my dad still... He couldn't follow me past the bar so he left me alone here. But a few years ago he tried to follow me. He almost made it across..." She stopped.

"Why didn't he?" I pushed.

"Because I pushed him." she uttered dryly.

I looked surprised, but deep down I kinda knew.

We stood in silence for a while before I spoke up.

"But why did you try to bring me here?"

"I... Before my dad... Died, I planned to leave this terrible town as soon as my wrist mate hit zero, and when he died I wanted it even more, so I set up this place to reflect me and what I liked. I planned to get to know you Phil."

She reached over to the tv and picked up a dvd case.

"I even bought the second season of doctor who for us to watch." she was crying now.

"But now all these things have happened... I need to know if you'll follow me Phil. We can start a new life okay? Everything will be fine, what do you say, Phil?' She pleaded.

"What do I say?" I pondered.

"Allonsy."

* * *

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